The programme is research-oriented with each student being directly supervised by a faculty member.

MPhil Stream

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the School.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, students may be required to take other courses.
• Each MPhil student is required to give an oral presentation on his/her research progress.
• Each MPhil student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

PhD Stream

Pre-candidacy

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the School.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, students may be required to take other courses.
• Each PhD student is required to pass a written candidacy examination within the maximum period of his/her candidacy stage for the advancement to his/her post-candidacy stage.
• Submit thesis proposal and defence.

Post-candidacy

• Each PhD student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

Fields of Specialization

The School of Accountancy is committed to both theoretical and applied accounting research. Faculty members in the School have varied teaching and research interests that encompass the following areas:

1. Financial Accounting and Reporting

Specific research topics include the application of quantitative methods in accounting, financial accounting regulations and choice, roles of accounting information in capital markets, valuation analysis, financial statement analysis, financial reporting and disclosures issues, and professional ethics.

2. Management Accounting and Information Systems

Major topics include management accounting systems design, risk analysis in capital budgeting, modelling and statistical research in management accounting, accounting and control systems, national culture and management accounting issues, behavioral accounting, agency theory, information systems for competitive advantages, and accounting information systems.

3. Auditing

Specific research topics include modelling and statistical research in auditing, behavioral issues in auditing, human information processing in auditing, auditor's responsibilities and liabilities, and economic-based approaches to auditing research.

4. International Accounting and Accounting in China

Although all research in these areas is undertaken within the Faculty, current research is moving towards the behavioral, organizational and cultural dimensions of accounting studies utilizing capital market, agency, contingency and other contemporary theories. In line with the research ethos of the Faculty, the research thrust in the School has an interdisciplinary flavor, and draws heavily on the disciplines of statistical decision theory, psychology, economics, sociology and law.

Please visit the Division’s homepage for more information.

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, applicants should fulfill the requirements as set by the Faculty of Business Administration.  Please refer to the programme's website for details.

Main Round: 1 December 2024
Clearing Round: 31 March 2025
(Applications in Clearing Round will only be considered subject to availability of places.)

To submit an initial application to RGC: By 12 noon, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time); and to submit a full application to CUHK: By 11:59 pm, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time).

Please refer to the HKPFS page for more details.

Offered by the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, the programme is research-oriented with each student being directly supervised by a faculty member.

MPhil Stream

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the School.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, student may be required to take other courses.
• Each MPhil student is required to give an oral presentation on his/her research progress.
• Each MPhil student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

PhD Stream

Pre-candidacy

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the School.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, student may be required to take other courses.
• Each PhD student is required to pass a written candidacy examination within the maximum period of his/her candidacy stage for the advancement to his/her postcandidacy stage.
• Submit thesis proposal and defence.

Post-candidacy

• Each PhD student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

Fields of Specialization

The hospitality and real estate industries are the rapid growth industries in this region.

Research activities conducted at the Center of Hospitality and Real Estate Research cover the areas of hospitality, tourism, real estate, and finance and span a wide spectrum of relevant topics. Among the two streams, students can choose to specialize in either hospitality or real estate.

1. Hospitality Marketing and Tourism

The growth of service industries has created a strong demand for research into marketing approaches that increase service effectiveness given the unique characteristics of intangibility, inseparability, perishability, and variability intrinsic to consumer behavior.  We emphasize on Service Innovation, Big Data Analytics, Hospitality Leadership, Business Sustainability and Social Media research. We are also the leading Hotel School for conducting impactful research on service robotics in the hospitality and tourism industries.

2. Real Estate and Finance

The real estate industry has generated many new and interesting research topics. Major issues examined include property valuation, property acquisition and financing methods, the best use of property, and the development of secondary property equity and debt markets. Specific interdisciplinary research topics that integrate with hospitality, economics and accounting concentrate on corporate finance and agency issues in Real Estate Investment Trusts, asset pricing theories, market efficiency of property markets, and economics of corporate location. There are also growing interests in research examining the unique features of mainland China and Hong Kong property markets, as well as the sustainability and diversity in real estate firms and investments.

Please visit the Division’s homepage for more information.

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, applicants should fulfill the requirements as set by the Faculty of Business Administration.  Please refer to the programme's website for details.

Main Round: 1 December 2024
Clearing Round: 31 March 2025
(Applications in Clearing Round will only be considered subject to availability of places.)

To submit an initial application to RGC: By 12 noon, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time); and to submit a full application to CUHK: By 11:59 pm, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time).

Please refer to the HKPFS page for more details.

The programme is research-oriented with each student being directly supervised by a faculty member.

MPhil Stream

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the Department.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, student may be required to take other courses.
• Each MPhil student is required to give an oral presentation on his/her research progress.
• Each MPhil student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

PhD Stream

Pre-candidacy

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the Department.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, student may be required to take other courses.
• Each PhD student is required to pass a written candidacy examination within the maximum period of his/her candidacy stage for the advancement to his/her post-candidacy stage.
• Submit thesis proposal and defence.

Post-candidacy

• Each PhD student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

Fields of Specialization

Courses offered by the Department of Decisions, Operations and Technology concentrate on four areas: Business Economics, Management Information Systems, Operations Management and Quantitative Methods. In addition, cross-disciplinary research efforts are also carried out in many areas. The research activities of the faculty members can be broadly categorized into the following three areas:

1. Business/Managerial Economic Studies

The main objective of this field is to help students develop skills in conducting rigorous economic research on topics that are related to management and business decisions. Current faculty expertise covers a wide variety of fields, including studies of the behavioral economics, experimental economics, econometrics, game theory, political economy, empirical research methods with applications to financial markets, labor markets, and industrial organization. Examples of current faculty research include psychological influences on economic decision-making through experimental and empirical methods, causal inference using machine learning methods, welfare analysis of market concentration and job polarization, social networks and job search in local markets, and digital platforms’ choices in two-sided markets.

2. Management Information Systems

The Management Information Systems faculty at the CUHK Business School is focused on understanding the impact of digital technologies on consumers, firms, the economy, and society as a whole. This research group has diverse interests encompassing various application areas, including business analytics, digital finance, human-AI interaction, digital innovation/entrepreneurship, online platforms & markets, AI & machine learning, and experimental economics, among others. To explore these topics, the group employs a wide range of methodologies, including econometrics, experiments, machine learning, and surveys.

3. Operations Management

This area’s research focuses are the theoretical development and practical applications in the fields of operations management and operations research. Particular topics of interests include inventory management, supply chain management, revenue management and pricing, service operations management, operations-finance interface, operations-marketing interface, and operations-accounting interface. Particular methodologies of research include optimization theory, probability theory and statistics, game theory, econometrics, and machine learning.

Please visit the Division’s homepage for more information.

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, applicants should fulfill the requirements as set by the Faculty of Business Administration.  Please refer to the programme's website for details.

Main Round: 1 December 2024
Clearing Round: 31 March 2025
(Applications in Clearing Round will only be considered subject to availability of places.)

To submit an initial application to RGC: By 12 noon, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time); and to submit a full application to CUHK: By 11:59 pm, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time).

Please refer to the HKPFS page for more details.

The programme is research-oriented with each student being directly supervised by a faculty member.

MPhil Stream*

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the Department.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, student may be required to take other courses.
• Each MPhil student is required to give an oral presentation on his/her research progress.
• Each MPhil student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

PhD Stream

Pre-candidacy

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the Department.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, student may be required to take other courses.
• Each PhD student is required to pass a written candidacy examination within the maximum period of his/her candidacy stage for the advancement to his/her post-candidacy stage.
• Submit thesis proposal and defence.

Post-candidacy

• Each PhD student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

Fields of Specialization

The Department of Finance pursues five research specializations:

1. Behavioral Finance
Behavioral finance studies investors' deviations from rationality and the subsequent impacts on the markets. Specific research studies include behavioral biases of investors, households, and managers, and how biases interact with market frictions. 

2. Corporate Finance
The corporate finance research concentrates on company financing and investment activities and corporate governance. Specific research topics include capital structure decision, mergers and acquisitions, minority shareholder protection and corporate governance issues in China.

3. Derivatives
This research area studies derivative assets and markets. Specific research topics include the pricing and investment of derivatives on underlying assets such as equity, commodity, currency, etc., and the hedging of institutions and corporations with derivative products.

4. Empirical Asset Pricing
This area conducts empirical research on asset pricing. Specific research topics include asset market efficiency and anomalies, price behaviors, implications for portfolio selection, and investment strategies.

5. Financial Markets and Institutions
The research area covers the instruments traded in the financial markets, the analysis of money and capital markets, and economic and environmental problems related to acquisitions and the use of funds by financial institutions. Specific research studies include the collateralized debt obligation market, bank advertising and the marketing of products and services. 

Please visit the Division’s homepage for more information.

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, applicants should fulfill the requirements as set by the Faculty of Business Administration.  Please refer to the programme's website for details.

Main Round: 1 December 2024
Clearing Round: 31 March 2025
(Applications in Clearing Round will only be considered subject to availability of places.)

To submit an initial application to RGC: By 12 noon, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time); and to submit a full application to CUHK: By 11:59 pm, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time).

Please refer to the HKPFS page for more details.

* MPhil Stream is not accepting application for 2024-25 admission.

The programme is research-oriented with each student being directly supervised by a faculty member.

MPhil Stream

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the Department.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, student may be required to take other courses.
• Each MPhil student is required to give an oral presentation on his/her research progress.
• Each MPhil student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

PhD Stream

Pre-candidacy

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the Department.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, student may be required to take other courses.
• Each PhD student is required to pass a written candidacy examination within the maximum period of his/her candidacy stage for the advancement to his/her post-candidacy stage.
• Submit thesis proposal and defence.

Post-candidacy

• Each PhD student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

Fields of Specialization

The Department of Management focuses on teaching and research in the following areas of management studies:

1. Organizational Behavior
Specific topics include individual characteristics (e.g., personality), interpersonal processes (e.g., trust and power), group/team characteristics and processes (e.g., diversity and leadership), organizational processes and practices (e.g., work design), and contextual influences (e.g., organizational culture and climate).

2. Human Resource Management
Research is conducted on staffing, selection, performance appraisal, compensation, and training and development.

3. Strategic Management
Areas of interest include competitive analysis, strategy formulation and implementation, globalization, corporate social responsibility, technology management, and the role of executives.

4. International Business and Management
Emphasis is placed on foreign market entry strategies, foreign direct investments, international joint venture management, the management of multinational enterprises, international human resource management, China business, Japanese business and cross-cultural management.

5. Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship research concentrates on the creation and management of new ventures, venture capital, small business management, business groups, family-owned business and Chinese entrepreneurship.

The major academic strength of the Faculty members lies in the areas of international business - and in particular management issues related to emerging economies - and cross-cultural and comparative management, with an emphasis on the management issues of arising in Asia-Pacific, Hong Kong and China.

Please visit the Division’s homepage for more information.

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, applicants should fulfill the requirements as set by the Faculty of Business Administration.  Please refer to the programme's website for details.

Main Round: 1 December 2024
Clearing Round: 31 March 2025
(Applications in Clearing Round will only be considered subject to availability of places.)

To submit an initial application to RGC: By 12 noon, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time); and to submit a full application to CUHK: By 11:59 pm, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time).

Please refer to the HKPFS page for more details.

The programme is research-oriented with each student being directly supervised by a faculty member.

MPhil Stream

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the Department.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, student may be required to take other courses.
• Each MPhil student is required to give an oral presentation on his/her research progress.
• Each MPhil student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

PhD Stream

Pre-candidacy

• Complete all the graduate courses required by the Department.
• When deemed necessary by advisor/supervisor, student may be required to take other courses.
• Each PhD student is required to pass a written candidacy examination within the maximum period of his/her candidacy stage for the advancement to his/her post-candidacy stage.
• Submit thesis proposal and defence.

Post-candidacy

• Each PhD student is required to submit a thesis and pass the oral defence of the thesis for graduation.

Fields of Specialization

The Department of Marketing’s research focuses on both quantitative and behavioral aspects of marketing, allowing academics and students to gain critical insights and to unlock and solve complex marketing issues.  Faculty members have diversified research interests that encompass the following areas:

1. Consumer Behavior
Major focuses include consumer judgment and decision making, information processing, social influence, affect and motivation, sensory marketing, culture, etc.

2. Empirical Modeling
Faculty members use structural, econometric, and machine learning methods to study issues related to social network, word of mouth, consumer search and learning, mobile and online marketing, etc..

3. Analytic Modeling
Faculty members adopt both game theoretical and experimental approaches to study issues such as pricing, competition, channel coordination, consumer search and learning, advertising, retailing and platforms.

Please visit the Division’s homepage for more information.

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, applicants should fulfill the requirements as set by the Faculty of Business Administration.  Please refer to the programme's website for details.

Main Round: 1 December 2024
Clearing Round: 31 March 2025
(Applications in Clearing Round will only be considered subject to availability of places.)

To submit an initial application to RGC: By 12 noon, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time); and to submit a full application to CUHK: By 11:59 pm, 1 December 2024 (Hong Kong time).

Please refer to the HKPFS page for more details.